The Britain's Got Talent live semi-finals ended last night with Irish singer-songwriter Ryan O'Shaughnessy and synchronised swimming quartet Aquabatique booking the last slots in Saturday's final – well, almost, there is still the judges "wild card" to be selected. Hopefully it will be a contestant who isn't a dance troupe or child singer – which basically leaves a semi-naked fella who spins around inside a giant hula-hoop.

As ever it has been a testing and exhausting week, not without fun – David Walliams's flirtation with "my Simon" and Amanda Holden's revelation that she is a "gay man trapped in a straight woman's body" being among the highlights – or controversy.

In the audition stages Cowell's ego – only recently landed back from America after a year's abstinence from ITV – was bruised when the success of the The Voice caused Britain's Got Talent to shift its time slot slightly to accommodate viewers hooked on Tom Jones's Elvis anecdotes and Jessie J's miming skills. There was also much talk of the BBC1 show's positivity and the heralding of a new dawn of talent shows starring people who were actually talented and triumphed because of ability rather than looks. A ridiculous notion that continues to unravel on The Voice itself.

This week has been Cowell's chance to respond and re-establish himself as the the master puppeteer of reality TV, the man who really knows what the public want.

Not one for subtlety, Cowell told boy band The Mend on Sunday's first live show that "it's about more than the voice, it's about personality too" – the first of several barbed remarks aimed not just at The Voice but also the dance shows who have taken the best acts and left Simon with pale imitations of Diversity.

There was also the the minor soap opera surrounding O'Shaughnessy's appearance on last night's show due to the fact that he had also appeared on the Irish version of The Voice. The storyline peddled on screen was that he would have to choose between the two but the reality was that he had been eliminated from the singing contest in the first week. O'Shaugnessy's appearance as the final act was an open goal for Cowell who accepted it with glee – if a show could miss out on someone as talented as this then what is the point of it at all?

That aside, the drama surrounding O'Shaugnessy was ridiculous in that it suggests that there is some sort of rulebook or code of honour among talent show producers. If there is then this series of BGT well and truly threw it aside by traveling across Europe to cast interesting acts including a pair of Swedish magicians who'd already appeared on primetime TV (although it was BBC so maybe that doesn't count); a Welsh voice choir who already had a recording contract; a Hungarian basketball troupe and a gang of pensioners (the Zimmers) who'd had a No 26 hit five years ago.

Some viewers may protest that such casting is unfair but as Holy Moly pointed out after it emerged that another act – the Loveable Rogues – had bypassed the early audition process entirely: "Life isn't fair, so why should TV shows with dancing dogs in them be any different?"

Although it's manipulated, over-hyped, filmed with retina-destroying abandon and Cowell's emperor-like personality has reached new levels of pomposity ("I like you" has now surpassed the wink and thumbs aloft as his golden seal of approval), BGT remains triumphantly entertaining despite it all. It also prents a wider cross-section of society than any other TV show and this year has included a gay couple expressing their love for each through the medium of ballroom dancing; a disabled and able-bodied dance duet; and an opera singer overcoming crippling shyness. It has shown us that pensioners can have punk rock spirit and made a man whose ambition was to open the Skipton Carnival with a saucepan on his head seem almost heroic.

It is to the programme's credit that all of these acts have been celebrated for who they are rather than be mocked as they may have been in previous years. Also, unlike The Voice, the judges – particularly Amanda Holden – haven't shied away from criticism, which has made for much more unpredictable TV than The Voice's dishonest platitudes.

Apart from rebranding itself as Europe's Got Talent it is hard to see where the show can go from here. But what did you think? Did you survive the entire week and if so who do you think is going to win tomorrow?